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Topic: Maytag dishwasher motor quit (Read 11298 times)

I started the wash as normal, then the unit quit 10 minutes later. Heater element works and it fills, but the motor won't start. I don't seem to be getting any voltage to the motor. I tried to download the service manual from this site, but the dishwasher manual they have listed is actually a washer manual.

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If you want to see if there is voltage going to the mtor when it stops like that, put your voltmeter leads at the yellow wire on the relay and the blue wire on the mtor harness. If there is 120 volts, the mtor is bad or the thermal overload in it is open. If no 120 volts is present, it is a timer or wiring connection issue.

most of them motor relays have a floating switch inside. Shake the relay and see if it makes a thunka thunka . If it does then next check it with a meter. put your leads on two of the legs at a time and look for continuity. If you have none then flip the relay over so the floating switch makes contact and then you should have continuity. If little bits of metal come out the relay or it sounds like a salt shaker then it is probably bad. Note: If it makes no noise at all it is also bad.

« Last Edit: November 12, 2008, 11:18:10 AM by JWWebster »

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About the icons: The beer is tip link, if a tech saves ya some money buy em a 6 pack. The small green square=personal message. The green dot is a link to my web page on appliance repair and other general BS I love to post. The letter sends me email.I love fan letters! LOL

OK, I pulled the motor and put 115v directly to the motor; white lead to yellow abd black lead to blue as per the print above. Motor just hums. The output of the timer seems to be 12.5 vac. Does this mean the timer is shot also?

No one asked you to remove the motor, since it can be easily unplugged. Put everything back where it belongs and place your meter leads where I instructed you. If the voltage is less than 100 volts coming from the timer to the yellow and blue leads (wash mode), your timer is bad or there may be an issue at the door switches, since they carry both the live and the Neutral side of the power to the unit. Also check the wiring connections at the power supply down below for loose wiring.

If you cut the power to the dishwasher, and hook up a test cord exactly like the nice diagram shows and the motor does not run, the motor is shot too. The diagram is straight from the Performa manual and is how we test motors like this in the field.

OK, here goes...Thank you for all of the assistance. I know no one told me to take the motor out. I ran 120 vac straight to the motor as per the handy picture that was provided and all I got was a loud hum. I figured at that point the motor was bad so I pulled it to get a better look and see if there was any visible damage or reason the motor wouldn't start. I also felt it prudent to check the source voltage, so I traced the wires back and took checks directly from the timer. I haven't dissasembled the timer yet because the motor is kind of expensive and the unit is 7 years old.

By the way, the first step I took was to check continuity in both door switches, then voltage on both sides. I apologize for not providing all of this info before. The picture was invaluable at isolating the trouble.